78 EGG MONEY 



methods of housing, feeding and caring for their hens. 

 I have always found that when the poultryman does his 

 part and cares for the fowls properly, they will not fail 

 to produce plenty of winter eggs. 



My manner of housing, feeding and caring for my own 

 flock has proved very successful. My houses are fifteen 

 by thirty feet in size, simple, but well built of matched 

 boards covered on the outside with prepared roofing and 

 lined with tar-paper. This makes a very tight, warm 

 house. Two-inch mesh wire netting is stretched on the under 

 side of the rafters and the space between the roof boards 

 and the wire is packed with oat straw which keeps the 

 house warm and free from dampness. Curtains made of 

 muslin are drawn at night in front of the roosts, making it 

 comfortable for the sleeping fowls during cold nights and 

 at the same time admitting plenty of fresh air for the fowls 

 to breathe. I cover the ventilating areas and the win- 

 dows with same material to cut ofF drafts and to keep 

 out cold winds. This muslin, however, does not prevent 

 plenty of air getting into the house and I consider pure air 

 of great importance as a means of preserving the health 

 of the fowls. Each house is divided in three parts by 

 wire netting partitions, making each compartment fifteen 

 by ten feet on the floor and sufficient for twenty fowls. 

 The windows are on the south side, admitting plenty of 

 sunshine, which is better for the fowls than medicine. 

 A dust bath is provided in each pen and the roost platforms 

 are cleaned every morning. 



In the morning I feed oats, wheat, barley and some kaf- 

 fir com and other small seeds scattered in chaff which 

 covers the floor. This encourages the bird to scratch and 

 thus obtain exercise, which is very needful for health and 

 productiveness, and neglecting it is sufficient cause for a 

 lack of eggs in cold weather. As man must earn his bread 

 by the sweat of his brow or he will not appreciate it, so the 

 hen that does not have to hxistle for her food will not have 

 a wholesome relish for it. 



At noon my fowls receive a mash of bran, ground oats, 

 barley and cooked potatoes, moistened with milk. For the 

 evening meal, they are fed shelled com, oats and bariev. 



